An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Book: This book is incredible and I really loved it. It’s so well done and explored and the mythology with the well-built characters and the interesting setting and the slight fantasy elements. It’s just so good, read it!

Brief Opinion 9/10

This was just such a good book and a really interesting take on the oppressed people rising up. I loved the duel perspective as it gave real insight into all three races and their thoughts and how each worked and felt. The story was well paced and everything would unfold at the right time to keep you interesting. The setting and the history and the lore and the take from real life were the most interesting part for me.

Full Review

Characters

So the characters were good but I wasn’t incredibly attached to them. They certainly grow throughout the book and I really hope that it continues and I can learn to love them. I love Helen, she isn’t the main focus but I adore how strong and how much she’s overcome and I think she was my favourite and I grew really attached to her which is a shame because I don’t know to what extent she will be in the next book.

Romance

So there are a lot of romantic interests in this and it’s got a tiny bit of insta love but it doesn’t develop into full on love or anything like that. It’s more attraction. But I don’t know who I’m meant to ship in this! Like I can see everyone with each other and see why they shouldn’t be. It’s like a spider web but it’s really well done.

Setting

This is the main focal point for me. I loved how you had a reflection of the Roman military and their ruling force but set in a desert and Arabic style setting. There isn’t much exploration but I think that there will be more of the world building in the sequel and I’m really looking forward to it.

Story

So the story was good and I liked how it was paced and the revelations we got and that it wasn’t super simple. It had a lot of elements to it and they were really well done and didn’t get too messy.

Plot

So the plot was pretty basic to begin with and then it started to domino and escalates and it just turned into this big epic story that I didn’t want to put down.

Writing

So I liked the mix of whimsical but light and enjoyable immersive experience. There were certain topics that were dark and heavy but it didn’t slow down the book due to the way it was written. At some points I did find it hard to distinguish the two voices but that was near the end where the two storylines were running closely side by side.

Villain

There are way too many people to hate in this book and the emotional response I had was quite shocking because I genuinely felt angry and I don’t get that kind of reaction very often.

End

So I have mixed feelings about the end; on one hand I love it; but on the other, I’m a little bit disappointed. It didn’t feel like enough of a conclusion to me but I like where the story went and presumably where it will go in the next book.